RESIDENT: Qualitative Analysis of Learner Experience in the Psychiatry Emergency Call Setting
Presenting Author(s): Dr. Sean Andrea
Co-Author(s): Megan Puckering
Date and time: 23 Mar 2024 from 13:20 to 13:35
Location: Hawthorn C
Learning Objectives
1. Review ways to conduct a focused needs assessment;
2. Discuss planning and evaluating an educational intervention; and
3. Review principles of QI project (plan-do-study-act cycle).
Literature References
1. Hawkins, N., Younan, HC., Fyfe, M. et al. Exploring why medical students still feel underprepared for clinical practice: a qualitative analysis of an authentic on‐call simulation. BMC Med Educ 21, 165 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12909-021-02605-y
2. Mark H. Townsend (2004) Emergency Psychiatry Training for Third-Year Medical Students as Reported by Directors of Medical Student Education in Psychiatry, Teaching and Learning in Medicine, 16:3, 247-249, DOI: 10.1207/s15328015tlm1603_4
3. Clairmont, S. (2019, April 11). Doctors and Residents leave St. Joe’s psych ER over safety concerns. Hamilton Spectator. Accessed at https://www.thespec.com/news/hamilton-region/2019/04/11/doctors-and-residents-leave-st-joe-s-psych-er-over-safety-concerns.html
Abstract
Background
Extant literature reveals that medical students often feel underprepared for clinical practice and on call experiences (1). The psychiatry emergency department is a particularly difficult learning environment, given the acuity of illness, potential safety concerns and ongoing stigma related to mental illness. Dedicated training related to psychiatric emergencies is often limited and variable in scope (2). At McMaster, learners in the psychiatry emergency department have additional concerns due to public perception of workplace safety (3).
Objectives:
- Review ways to conduct a focused needs assessment
- Discuss planning and evaluating an educational intervention
- Review principles of QI project (plan-do-study-act cycle)
Content and Methodology:
We examined feedback from previous cohorts regarding their experience as junior learners in the psychiatry emergency setting, given the necessary process changes in the context of the Covid-19 pandemic. We prepared a 30-minute video to serve as an “e-orientation” to the psychiatry emergency department. We drafted and distributed a post-intervention 10-item survey that assessed learner demographics, utility of our video intervention across several domains, as well as optimum learning modalities in the psychiatry emergency department.
Results:
Data revealed that 100% of learners felt the video intervention was helpful. Prior to the orientation, 80% of learners felt “uncomfortable” or “very uncomfortable” for PES call, whereas no learners identified feeling this way after the orientation. All participants identified the video as “helpful” or “very helpful” for pre-intervention goals including navigating to the department, understanding expectations and improving familiarity with safety processes. Junior clerks felt that learning was optimized while working with residents compared to working with staff. Write-in data revealed further areas for improving learner experience.